During surgery, doctors may require access to many different tools and instruments, such as scalpels, lancets, scissors, injection needles, forceps, clamps, retractors, probes, and suction tubes. Space to store the wide assortment of tools that may be needed on short notice can pose a significant problem. Doctors and surgical teams may be forced to choose a limited array of tools to be within easy reach during surgery, and this selection may not be adequate for all situations that can occur.
Various devices exist for reducing the need to switch tools during surgery or making switching tools easier, particularly in minimally-invasive surgical procedures where the tools may be manipulated while within a patient's body. U.S. Pat. No. 8,088,026 describes methods and devices for interchangeable endoscopic end effectors. US patent publication number 2009/0209947 A1 describes systems and methods for interchangeable tips and tool box for assisting surgical procedures. Such devices and publications have the drawbacks that they are limited to electrically-powered devices and are especially designed for surgical tools only. It would be useful to have interchangeable tools that are mechanically operated and have a wider field of application than a particular class of surgical procedures.
Some devices currently exist for interchangeable hand tools. U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,698 describes a hand tool having interchangeable accessories. This patent has the drawbacks that it is only directed towards tools that are large enough to require a forearm brace, and it is directed toward a narrow scope of applications such as scraping a surface. U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,482 describes a hand tool with interchangeable attachments. This patent has the drawbacks that it is directed specifically to garden tools and it utilizes a large dowel-style handle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,983,506 describes a universal, interchangeable tool attachment system. This patent has the drawbacks that it does not include tools for surgical applications, and the interchangeability utilizes a pin system which may be slow and cumbersome to change tools and has small parts that might become easily lost.
It would be useful to have a hand tool device with interchangeable parts that is small enough to be hand-held, has a diverse field of applications including surgical procedures, has an interchangeability system that allows for fast part replacement and interchange, and does not rely on small parts for interconnection.